Wildlife

International Expeditions' Amazon river cruises offer the perfect chance to catch a glimpse of the Emperor tamarin monkeys. These tiny primates were allegedly named for their resemblance to Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany as they have distinctive long, white mustaches. Some also have beards, while other are black-chinned.

A new Andean bird species — the Junin Tapaculo — was discovered in Peru by a University of Kansas graduate student working in Junin, a remote department north of Cusco. The new tapaculo’s range is limited to heavily vegetated band of Andean cloud forest between about 8,000 and 10,500 feet

Following up on leads from fellow birders and ornithologists, Peter Hosner tracked down this new species by following its distinctive vocalization.

The diminutive Cuban pygmy owl lives exclusively on Cuba, but they make their homes in a variety of forest habitats across the Caribbean island. The IUCN Red List classifies this species as one of Least Concern, which means there is a healthy number of these endemic winged creatures living all over the island of Cuba. So there's a good chance you'll spot at least one of these tiny birds when you join IE’s people-to-people Cuba tour.

There are only an estimated 10,000-25,000 blue whales believed to be still swimming the world's oceans, and lucky guests on International Expeditions Galapagos Islands cruise last week had a memorable encounter with these giant creatures. Blue whales are the largest known animals to have ever lived on Earth, so there was no doubt what they were seeing when guests observed this whale’s huge spout.

The cheetah is an attractive cat found over much of the savannah regions of Africa but also in some of the desert areas of Africa and the Mideast. The cheetah is the fastest land animal on Earth. To witness their incredible speed during a hunt is a sight to behold and will amaze even the most seasoned scientist, naturalist and guide.

The Northern horned screamer is a large bird that doesn’t quite fit in with other species…in fact; there are only three species in their family Anhimidae. Northern horned screamers live in aquatic areas with lots of emergent vegetation and when walking on water lettuce or hyacinth, look like a very large goose. Their feet, however are not webbed, but they have fairly heavy long toes that support their weight on the floating mats of vegetation.

This week IE’s president Van Perry has been checking-in via satellite phone from his Galapagos Islands cruise. (Be sure to see the highlights here). During the journey, Van learned that Española, the archipelago’s southernmost island, is our naturalist Boli’s favorite island. Here are just a few things you’ll find on Española.